Megan Griffiths' Masterpiece Eden Comes Home

Searching for a reference point for the experience of watching Eden, the razor-sharp human-trafficking drama directed by Seattle filmmaker Megan Griffiths, I'm repeatedly brought back to the world of horror. The closest comparison I can make to being led into the depths of Eden is following Clarice Starling into that pitch-black basement at the end of The Silence of the Lambs—only in Eden, the villains aren't cartoon psychopaths. They're terrifyingly average fellow humans who've somehow found a way around whatever it is inside of us that objects to kidnapping, rape, slavery, and murder. And in Eden, that trapped-in-a-basement-with-monsters terror isn't reserved for the thrilling climax. It emanates from virtually every frame of the film, which methodically follows a teenage American girl (dubbed "Eden" by her captors) as she's forced to survive in the world of underage sex trafficking. The result is a stark, suspense-packed horror film that offers its most terrifying fact before the action begins: "Based on a true story."

Continue reading here. And go see Eden at SIFF Uptown starting this Friday. This weekend brings two special screenings: